0. If I had known that there was such a thing as reincarnation

She wanted to live in this moment forever.

Material wealth, honor, good friends, a devoted husband, and a loving son. Archmage Asmov Rubaltberg was so happy that all she wished was to stop time forever.

But no matter how great a mage was, this was an impossible feat. So she came up with another way.

‘If I can make a potion that won’t make me old or sick, I can live forever.’

Since then, she had been locked up in her home with the sole purpose of researching the method to make an ‘Elixir’, which would grant her immortality.

It had been six long, yet short years, and she had finally managed to create an Elixir even against people’s opposition.

However, her long-cherished dream of living with her loved ones forever became futile.

‘Why? Why?! Why did you kill Gilford and Eddie?! WHY?!’

It was the betrayal of a friend she trusted and confided in the most. Ludwald, the First Emperor of the Castaros Empire who conquered the continent with her, killed her husband and child. And he did so without any prompting.

‘I won’t forgive you. I won’t forgive you even if you die! You and all of those things that follow your blood!’

She killed Ludwald and then herself, but before that, she placed a terrible curse onto his descendants. She was prepared to do anything, even if it meant she would descend into hell.

‘If I had known that there was such a thing as reincarnation, I wouldn’t have done any of that.’

If she had known that she herself would become a descendant of Ludwald, she would not have placed that curse.

·

✦

·

1. The Time Limited Duchess; In Pursuit of Eternal Life

“Karia, are you listening to me?”

“—Ah, yes.”

“So, you mustn’t divorce. You mustn’t!” the Emperor exclaimed.

Her name right now was Caria Pantheon, who is the illegitimate child of the only brother of the Emperor, the Grand Duke. She was a ‘poor woman’ who had been subjected to the harsh humiliation and domestic abuse in this household after marrying the Duke of Pantheon.

“Wife, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll show you a different side of myself from now on. So please give me one more chance,” her husband begged.

“Now, now. See how Duke Pantheon cares for you. Doesn’t he have a generous heart?”

The moment Caria mentioned the word ‘divorce’, everyone tried to stop her. They forced her to forgive and understand her husband, even as she was on the brink of death every time she was beaten black and blue, both physically and mentally. Her husband would say that it was all for her sake.

‘Is this why Caria couldn’t even bring up divorce, so she chose to kill herself?’

Caria was so overwhelmed by the urge to sharpen her tongue and lash out at them.

When she miraculously revived from the suicide attempt and regained her past life’s memories, she was no longer the former Caria. She knew that she didn’t have to nod obediently to the head of the family.

It wasn’t just a month, or just a year. She was being abused for six years. It was the same time she managed to make the Elixir. They abused and neglected her for that long of a time.

Now, she had much more important things to do than crave for anything like this damn ‘love’.

‘I don’t have time. I don’t know in what form or shape Gilford and Eddie would be in after they’d been reincarnated, but I need to meet them again soon so we can regain our lost happiness!’

She looked sharply into the eyes of the people who she didn’t want to call family members as they continued to try and fool her with their nonsense.

Her father, who held onto the position of the Grand Duke, but would not hold Caria’s hand even as she reached out for help.

Her first brother, who would stab daggers into her heart as he pretended to be a gentleman in front of other people.

Her second brother, who was always on the other family members’ side even as he pretended to care for her.

The Emperor and her cousins who always looked at her with disapproval for staining the reputation of the Grand Duke.

They all pretended to be blind when faced with her shattered heart.

Because of that, Caria had no intention of preserving their feelings or ‘honor’ any longer.

“—Then it’s my fault.”

“What?”

“Everything is my fault.”

She somehow needed to establish this divorce. And she needed the right reasons for it.

“I actually have a hidden child.”

Her confession, which no one had ever thought about in their lives, made everyone in the room freeze.

“I want to live as that child’s mother now. I don’t want to continue being a Duchess.”

This time-limited Duchess would do anything for eternal life. Even if it meant throwing dung right in her family’s faces.

* * *

[ If you borrowed money from an alchemist, make sure to pay it back on time. Otherwise, no one knows how big the interest would be. ]

When mythical heroes were still alive, this was a joke that even a child on the streets knew. At that time, alchemists were people who were taken for granted because they were everywhere.

Alchemists were those who twisted reality. They could transform a glass full of soil and make it a glass full of water, a handful of fire into a handful of wind.

They could also gather the mana that lingered in the atmosphere and turned it into new phenomena.

Some called this mysterious transformation as ‘magic’, and because of this, alchemists were also called by a different name and were known as ‘mages’.

It was also well known that they were the epitome of being miserly and stingy because of the nature of their ‘magic’.

[ Equivalent exchange. The exchange of goods of equal value. ]

Even the most talented alchemists could not conjure even a glass of water by itself.

The same was true with any of the magic they did. To ordinary people, it seemed like their magic would come out of thin air. But in fact, that ‘magic’ was the product of thorough calculations and secret exchanges underneath it all.

Therefore, any alchemist was naturally stingy about any contract they would enter. There was no exception at all, even if the other person signing the contract was a close friend or a relative.

So because of this, Caria was more sincere about revenge than anyone else.

While ruminating on the truth, the alchemist, who once stood at the top of the continent, stared down at Akali, the First Empress of Castaros.

’Please, please don’t do this! Please show us mercy! Asmo—no, Master Asmov! The children are innocent! Please!’

‘My only child was innocent, too, but what did Ludwald do to him?’

Archmage Asmov Rubaltberg. She was a friend, a loyal retainer, and a trusted adviser to Ludwald, who was the First Emperor of the Castaros Empire who unified the countries of the continent. Ever since they were younger, they fought bravely side by side and achieved victory on those battlefields together.

And the power he tasted after twenty years broke the trust they had in each other.

Ludwald began to distance himself from Asmov, who had a strong support base even after he was enthroned as Emperor.

She could only laugh bitterly as she thought back to just wanting to be a friend to him. After all, the nature of their relationship was ruler and servant.

And yet, Ludwald crossed the line he should never have crossed.

’He knew better than anyone how much I longed for a family. And yet I—! I had wandered around the battlefield every single day without knowing if I would die today or if I would die tomorrow. My family was my entire existence, and yet he took away my only sanctuary!’

‘There must be an understanding, Ash! You know Ludwald, right? No matter how far apart you’ve strayed from each other, you should know him! There’s no way he would have killed Gilford and Eddie without a reason!’

At what the Empress said, Asmov closed her eyes and bit her lips. Blood thicker than the flames trickled down her chin.

Gilford was her husband. He was a kind lover who made her heart flutter just thinking about him. He was her first love, and he would be her last as well.

And Eddie, her soft, lovely son whose height had yet to reach her waist. Although she wouldn’t be able to give birth again after having Eddie, she never blamed the child.

Asmov did everything in the world for the sake of her two loved ones. Compared to the happiness they gave her for every fleeting moment, no matter how much she tried to repay them with the same grace, she always felt indebted. They gave her such joy in this life that she felt like it was a debt she would never be able to repay.

That’s the reason why she made the leap and decided to make an ‘Elixir’ that would make anyone live forever without getting sick or old. She was going to drink that potion with her family so that they could be together forever.

But it was all shattered by Ludwald.

’Misunderstood? Yes, I thought that, too. So I swallowed the blood and tears that I’ve shed and went to Ludwald. But he didn’t make any excuses. I went on my knees and begged him to tell me—tell me anything. And yet he just looked down at me without saying a word.’

‘That can’t be true!’

‘Now I’m sure. It was a huge mistake on my part to make him Emperor. That’s why I’ve corrected that mistake, Akali, with this hand.’

At one glance, Asmov’s clothes could be seen soaked with blood. There was no anger or any other emotion on her face, just a disinterested apathy, as though everything in her had evaporated.

Her hands reached out to the two princes, who shrank in terror. Panicked, Empress Akali immediately hid her children behind her slender body.

’Don’t do this, please! I-I heard you already took revenge on Ludwald… heuk! If it’s him who did something wrong, kill only him!’

‘—No. Not yet. I haven’t avenged Eddie yet.’

‘Stop! Just stop it! Have you already forgotten that I saved you?!’

Akali had already lost her senses after hearing that her husband had died. She felt like she was about to collapse, but she couldn’t fall unconscious now. Even though her face full of despair had become so marred with tear streaks, she still had her children to protect.

                                             Eventually, even though the Empress didn’t want to bring up these circumstances from long ago that could wound her friend’s honor, she spat them out anyway.

‘Who was it that saved you when you were abandoned by your father and sold as though you were livestock?! It was me! If it weren’t for me, you would have died when you were ten—you never would have been able to have a family! Did you forget all that?!’

Asmov’s eyes had already lost their light in them, but at Akali’s words, they trembled once more. However, she quickly killed these agitated emotions and replied in a calm voice.

‘Yes. That happened.’

‘—If you remember, then leave us now.’

‘But that’s not the right way to determine debt.’

Asmov ignored Akali and reached out to Ludwald’s children who she hid behind her. At this, all the blood drained from Akali’s face.

‘Don’t do this. They’re the princes of this Empire.’

‘So?’

‘You signed a contract. You’re bound by magic.’

As soon as Akali said this, the mana in the air began to stir. This ferocious mana stained with gold was the trademark of Archmage Asmov.

Akali and her children immediately sensed this danger and tried to escape, but there was nowhere to hide when the golden haze of mana had already dominated the space.

‘I lost my eternity because of Ludwald’s atrocities. And since my only child, Eddie, died as well, the history I’ve helped prosper shall also end with me. This great history was built up with anguish and tenacity.’

‘Nothing will change even if you do this!’

‘And it doesn’t make sense that only Ludwald’s offspring would remain.’

‘Ash!’

‘I exchange for sparing these children’s lives, I shall let Ludwald suffer for eternity.’

At Asmov’s firm declaration, the children cried ‘Ack!’ at the same time a sharp blade of mana had cut their fingertips. Blood splattered through the air, and their blood hardened like rubies.

After this, Asmov’s mana moved away from the children, and Akali hurriedly looked at the faces of her sons. After confirming that her children were safe, she didn’t care whether Asmov would turn her attention to the Empress.

Asmov retracted her golden mana and spread the blood out towards the ceiling.

‘Is this the blood of Ludwald? It’s red. How infuriating.’

‘What are you doing?!’

‘I’ll lift this here, and…’

‘—W-Wait, what are you…!’

As Akali’s eyes were focused on Asmov, terrible screams filled the room.

There was no time to cover the eyes of the young princes. In an instant, the metallic smell of blood permeated the air and reached their noses, their eyes, their clothes, their memories.

Asmov lifted the two rubies towards the ceiling and had her own heart in another hand. With a white face and with blood spurting out of her lips, she stood as though she were a representative of Libra herself, holding the scale of justice.

’Cough! This is… This is my resentment. Cough! Haa… Under the constellation Libra, a hellfire shall continue without ceasing. And what is burned shall soon turn to ash!’

‘Ash! Ash, what are you doing! Are you crazy?! Help! Help!! Is there anyone out there?! Please help! Hurry!!’

While Akali watched the dying Asmov, her own face turned ashen as she shouted desperately. As the archmage died, the haze of mana soon scattered. Soon, servants and medics came outside the door, but they couldn’t enter.

After losing her husband and her friend in just one night, Akali struggled with despair. Why? What ruined their relationship?

The past, which had been filled with trust and faith, was still so vivid behind her eyes—her heart ached.

‘Cough! Will Ludwald’s blood disappear first—or my resentment? Huuk, ugh, cough! It’s such a pity that I can’t watch.’

‘Ash! Asmov Rubaltberg!’

The great archmage who unified the continent collapsed. Asmov died, having only her tearful friend’s face as the last thing she saw.

She had no regrets. Her life was nothing as a price of paying it all back. What regrets about living would she have when her family was no longer in this world?

Right now, all she wanted was to meet Ludwald once again in hell so that she could spit it in his face that she had cursed his bloodline.

·

“But I really didn’t think this would happen.”

The woman, who brutally killed herself in the name of revenge, was laying down right now. She wasn’t on a dirty, blood-spattered carpet like before, but she was on a bed full of moisture.

She couldn’t stand to see her face in front of a mirror because it was so strange. It’s a face that she’d looked at countless times already, but she couldn’t acknowledge it as her own.

Then, from her bed, she heard someone banging on her door. Before she even answered, the door swung open.

“What are you doing, Duchess?! If you’re awake, then you have to say so! Do you have any idea how anxious your doctor has been? You’re being so troublesome!”

“’Troublesome’?”

“Unlike people at the Grand Duchy, we’re all busy here at the Pantheon estate! It’s already been six years since you got married, so couldn’t you get used to how it is in this household?! Anyway, I’ll call the doctor, so stay right there!”

The maid donned in a thick, rough garb said what she had to say, and slammed the door behind her back.

Just as the maid said, right now, Asmov was the Duchess of Pantheon, and that arrogant was her personal maid.

“Caria Pantheon.”

That’s her name. Caria. She frowned at the inconsistency she felt as she recited a stranger’s name.

Caria Pantheon. She’s the illegitimate child of the Emperor’s brother, Grand Duke Lutherbert.

In this Empire where a long time had passed, she was reborn as a descendant of the person she loathed with all her being, Ludwald.

* * *

As Caria got out of bed, she opened the window and was faced with a biting, cold wind. As she stared at the landscape, she recalled what had happened to her now.

Everything started with a seemingly happy step.

Six years ago, Caria visited her father’s office when she was called by him. It was very unusual for her father to ask for her presence.

As she arrived with excitement, Caria was handed a portrait, not knowing why.

’Look at it.’

‘What’s this, Father?’

‘It’s a portrait of the Duke of Pantheon.’

The Duke of Pantheon was a man surrounded by many rumors. While staring at the portrait, she recalled that he became the head of the family not long ago.

He was a robust man with a handsome appearance, and he was a diligent man who led a Duchy. However, she once heard that he was struggling to pay off the debts of his predecessor.

‘The Pantheon family is loyal to the land and kept their faith even when the Empire was divided. And you’re both around the same age.’

‘What do you mean by…’

The Duchy of Pantheon was one of the few families who could stand on par with Caria’s status, since she was the daughter of a Great Duke and was connected by blood with the Imperial Family. But because she was an illegitimate child, such things as ‘financial difficulties’ with the Duke’s family was not enough reason for her to refuse the Duke.

The Great Duke had a huge influence on the nobles and was of a notable influence on the Emperor. From the standpoint of a lord from a land where winter was harsh, and even with their household with finances holding on like a precarious candle being blown by the wind, the Duke would not have been able to reject this marriage either.

As she realized this conclusion, Caria looked at her father with trembling eyes. But without returning her gaze, the Great Duke spoke with a blunt voice.

‘It’s said that he has a two-year-old son and a newborn daughter, but there’s no problem since his ex-wife is dead.’

‘The daughter is a newborn? Then it hasn’t been long since—’

‘They said there were some complications. But the children are young, so they’ll need a new mother right away.’

Her guess wasn’t far off. Her father was really planning to send her to a man who already had two children. Caria couldn’t hide her disappointment.

She was happy that her father had called her for the first time in a long while, but he just said what he needed to say without even offering her a cup of tea.

’I’ll follow Father’s wishes.’

She was flabbergasted, but at the end of the day, she would still follow her father’s words. She was going to get married at some point anyway. It wasn’t the worst kind of situation, too, since there wasn’t much of an age difference between them.

Right after that, wedding preparations were carried out quickly. Since the Grand Duke was the one who reached out to the Duke for the marriage, everything from the ceremony’s planning and down to the clothes and gifts were prepared by the experienced noble lady, the Grand Duchess.

Caria only remembered eating a few meals with the Duke, then she found herself wearing her wedding gown and standing in front of the officiator. The guests gave their blessings to the beautiful couple who matched well, as though they were a painting.

However, between the newlyweds themselves, they had no conversation at all until the ceremony had ended.

’Wife, I will respect you.’

When she entered the Ducal estate after suffering under the presence of numerous people all day, Ruvidolf Pantheon, Caria’s husband, spoke in a low and serious voice.

’Although we got married even though we didn’t want this, we can be friends as long as we can agree on setting boundaries and living our own lives.’

‘Friends?’

‘Yes. Friends.’

During the first night of her marriage, Caria sat on her matrimonial bed and listened to her husband say that he only wanted to be friends with her.

This could be seen as him being considerate of her, however, at the same time, this was like a declaration that he would never love her.

’I won’t force you into anything, Wife. You don’t have to act the part of a wife or a mother. You can just live quietly as you are. As long as you don’t cause trouble for the household.’

Ruvidolf Pantheon said this, then turned his back and lay in bed. After a while, she could hear his even breaths, but she knew that he hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He just did not wish to talk to her.

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